General Dynamics buys Switzerland's Jet Aviation

19 August, 2008

SOURCE: Flight International

BY: Andrew Doyle

London

General Dynamics has agreed to buy Swiss business aviation services provider Jet Aviation for SFr2.45 billion ($2.25 billion). The acquisition will provide Gulfstream Aerospace-owner General Dynamics with a global business aviation flight-support services operation.

"Under the ownership of Permira, Jet Aviation has become a global market leader in business aviation services as a unit of General Dynamics, Jet Aviation will support one of our core growth areas," says Nicholas Chabraja, General Dynamics chairman and CEO.

"Permira backed a period of significant capital investment in this business that drove rapid organic growth, and Jet Aviation strengthened its franchise globally through a successful acquisition strategy," he adds. "As a result, the company is well-positioned to capture further growth opportunities in the business aviation market."

Jet Aviation Group CEO Peter Edwards says: "Our focus will continue to centre on fulfilling our customer commitments while extending the global reach of our current lines of business, further enhancing our long standing relationships with all OEM's, partners and customers."

The deal is subject to anti-trust approval and is expected to close by the end of 2008.

Jet Aviation's European and US aircraft management and charter divisions operate over 200 aircraft and provided 65,000h of flight operations in 2007.

Now that Etihad Airways has elected to stop funding Air Berlin, forcing the German carrier to file for assembly, a central question is which parts of the business can continue to operate in the long term.